Recent work suggests that the links between religious belief and behavior with a variety of positive outcomes (e.g., longer life, more marital satisfaction, scholastic achievement, better health behaviors) may be partially explained by religious belief systems' ability to foster self-control and self-regulation. The current investigation sought to explore this hypothesis by determining if induction of religious cognition (through a supraliminal religious prime) could increase behavioral self-control, operationalized as performance on a maintained grip task. Using 118 participants, the author tested whether nonconscious exposure to religious content would increase the amount of time that participants were willing to physically persist at two rounds of the maintained grip task as compared to a control group. A within-subjects trial-by-prime interaction was found (the prime appeared to cause participants to persist at the task for less time during the first trial, but not the second) and a between-subjects sex-by-prime interaction was found (on average, men given the religious prime held their grip for less time than did men in the control group, whereas no differences were found between women). Findings are discussed in terms of the link between religion and self-control and future directions are suggested.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Northwestern University, 2003. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-04, Section: A, page: 1316. Adviser: Caroline Bledsoe.

Why is trait self-control associated with successful goal progress? Existing research has attempted to answer this question by focusing on individual differences in the process of goal pursuit. Herein, we propose and test a novel mechanism suggesting that self-control facilitates goal attainment not only by affecting the process of goal pursuit but also the type of goals peo- ple select in the first place. Three studies showed that high (vs. low) self- control individuals are more likely to report successful goal attainment and this association was mediated by their tendency to select the goals that reflect their true/authentic self. These results were obtained using cross-sectional and longitudinal designs and were robust against controlling for previously established mechanisms of the effect of trait self-control on goal attainment (habit strength, experiences of goal-conflicting desires). Overall, there findings contribute to the literatures on self-regulation, authenticity and goal management.

The work deals with the current conditions and developments in the field of insurance regulation in the Czech insurance market. Initially, the issue itself needs and merits of regulation. Then analyze the insurance contract and the rights and obligations arising therefrom. Among the most part are the conditions change the conduct of assurance business. Within this section are not only insurance and reinsurance, but also the activities of insurance intermediaries and independent liquidators claims under a separate law on this issue in 2004. Then followed the issue of supervision of insurance companies, and its development activities, carried out supervision body, which was recently amended. Is also included cooperation with the EU, including EU projects show the insurance industry for the near future. Finally, on the basis of the preceding description of an evaluation carried out development of the regulation of the insurance market and future prospects in the coming years, which is going primarily from dominance of European legislation in this area in recent years.

The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between gender, self-control, emotion regulation, rumination and test anxiety. In other words, the study aimed at investigating how well each of the mentioned independent variables contributes to explain variance of test anxiety. The participants (N=188) were reached by convenient sampling procedure. The sample consisted of preparatory students studying in a private university in Ankara. Data were collected by a demographic form and four scales as Test Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1980), Self-Control Scale (Tangney, Baumeister, &amp / Boone, 2004), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross &amp / John, 2003), and Ruminative Response Scale (Treynor, Gonzalez, &amp / Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003). For this study, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was utilized to examine the data. The results revealed that gender, self-control, two emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and suppression) and also brooding as a ruminative response significantly correlated to test anxiety of university students. Furthermore, self-control and cognitive reappraisal were found to be correlated with test anxiety stronger than the other independent variables. Reflection as another ruminative response was not found to be correlating with test anxiety within the suggested model. The findings obtained from the present study are discussed with regards to the related literature, and conclusions were drawn accordingly.

The strength model of self-control predicts that when people exert self-control, they should show performance decrements on subsequent self-control tasks. However, it is possible that this pattern of behaviour is confined to specific experimental procedures, which amplifies the effect. The aims of this thesis are to; 1) test the strength model predictions in sport; and 2) examine emotion as a mediator of self-control performance effects. Study 1 consisted of two experiments. Experiment 1 set out to demonstrate a pattern of resource depletion. Forty-three sport and exercise students performed either an incongruent (self-control depletion) or congruent (control) Stroop task before and after performing a virtual reality cycling task on an indoor cycling ergometer. Findings showed the depletion group performed worse on the second Stroop task than on their first task or than the control group. Experiment 2 sought to address some of the methodological concerns in Experiment 1, and examine emotion as a factor explaining performance. Forty-eight physically active participants followed the same experimental protocol, but with an additional iteration of both tasks. Results demonstrated that both cycling and Stroop task performance improved across time. In addition, participants reported feeling happier and more motivated during the second cycling task. Study 2 provided a conceptual replication of Study 1, using different tests of self-control. Twenty-six university-level male soccer players either performed the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test (LSPT) with (self-control depletion) or without (control) an audio file simulating crowd noise, and then performed the wall squat muscle endurance test. The self-control depletion group reported feeling more anxious during the LSPT and performed worse than the controls on the wall squat. III Next, in Study 3, nineteen well-trained competitive endurance runners performed a self-paced 1600 m running trial and then ran a second trial either self-paced or with a pacemaker. The pacemaker had no significant effect on actual performance time but participants reported feeling more anxious beforehand and adopted a fast start strategy, whereas the self-paced group had a conservative pacing pattern. Study 4 showed that, for females, consuming a sports drink—as opposed to plain water—associated with better physical (high-intensity track running) and cognitive self-control (Stroop) performance. In addition, they appeared to be happier drinking water, and more anxious drinking the sports drink—an effect that diverged over the six weeks. Study 5 examined the effects of three strategies—designed to increase or decrease the intensity of emotions—on emotion, pacing strategy and 1600 m performance. Results showed the intervention designed to decrease unpleasant emotions was associated with lower anxiety, higher calmness, a slower first 400 m, and more overall consistent pacing strategy. Study 6 examined the effects of imagery training on swimming tumble-turn performance. Findings showed no significant intervention effect, a result that goes against the proposed benefits of psychological skills training and runs counter to the predictions of the strength model. Collectively, the evidence in the thesis provides limited support for the strength model. It is concluded that self-control performance does not inevitably deteriorate across self-control tasks where the individual is well-versed with the task demands, or where tasks are not physically strenuous enough to tax mental resources. In contrast, the explanation for performance deterioration across a series of novel tasks is likely to extend beyond that of a self-control resources perspective. Future research might profitably test this proposal.

The Diploma Thesis deals with the regulation of the tobacco market. The first part is dedicated to the theoretical view on regulation. It describes the historical development of the different points of view on regulation within economic schools, then it characterizes different types of market failure and within those it shows possible solutions in form of regulatory measures. The second part of the diploma thesis deals with tobacco and tobacco products market. In this chapter the current situation on the market is analyzed and some trends are derived, the chapter also deals with the largest producers of tobacco products nowadays. The last chapter deals with current tobacco control legislation. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and current European tobacco control legislation are looked at in detail and there is a comparison conducted of the level of tobacco market regulation in different parts of the world. The last part of the thesis delivers the evaluation of the level to which the current tobacco regulation is in line with the economic theory of regulation.

The current study aims to increase understanding of influences on and consequences of self-regulation in adolescence. Previous work has shown that higher levels of self-regulation are associated with greater social competence and lower levels problem behaviors. Past studies have posited that parenting and interparental conflict are linked to self-regulation and adjustment in childhood and adolescence. However, the mechanism underlying the potential effects of specific parental behaviors and interparental conflict on self-regulation and their unique effects on adjustment have been largely unexamined. It was hypothesized that parental psychological and behavioral control and interparental conflict would be indirectly associated with adolescent outcomes via self-regulation abilities. Besides, differential impacts of parental controlling behaviors on self-regulation were also explored. The study involved a sample of 300 students in the 6th and 7th grades and their mothers. Students completed self-report questionnaires on parental control behaviors, self-regulation abilities, and academic self-concept. Furthermore, mothers completed questionnaires including parental control, interparental conflict, self-regulation abilities of adolescents, and adolescent adjustment (i.e., hyperactivation/inattention, emotional, and prosocial behaviors). The mediational hypothesis was largely supported. Results suggested that perceived parental psychological control and interparental conflict predicted low levels of self-regulation and in turn, this predicted adolescent adjustment. Parental behavioral control predicted self-regulation abilities in adolescent-reported model only. As predicted, different parental psychological control dimensions had divergent impact on adolescent outcomes. Specifically, love withdrawal/irrespective parenting was associated with the highest adolescent adjustment. Results also showed that the interplay between paternal guilt induction/erratic emotional behaviors and monitoring was significant in predicting prosocial behaviors and perseverance of adolescents. Similarly, the significant interaction between maternal love withdrawal/irrespective and knowledge suggested that high maternal withdrawal combined with high parental knowledge may result in hyperactivation/inattention problems among early adolescents. Finally, two U-shaped curvilinear relationships were found between psychological control and adjustment variables. Accordingly, the relationship between paternal guilt induction/erratic emotional behaviors and low perseverance/monitoring / and maternal love withdrawal/irrespective and Turkish academic self-concept had curvilinear relationship. Theoretical, methodological, cultural, and practical implications of the findings were discussed considering previous literature.

This thesis deals with the creation of models of non-volatile sources connected to the power system using power converters and their connection by filter or a transformer. Furthermore, the thesis will deal with the study of the problem of connecting a large number of these sources. Another area of interest is to determine the conditions under which these sources can be used to restore network voltage after a previous outage. In the PSCAD program we will create inverter models (6 pulse, 12 pulse and one phase). In the next step, a network model will be created, where the individual sources will be connected and, in the end, we will simulate the situations. The output of the thesis is to determine the behavior of the largest number of static sources in the system and thus to contribute to the knowledge about the possibilities of safe and stable operation of non-volatile energy sources in the power system.

Thesis is dedicated to characteristics of marketing and communication mix, to analysis and evaluation of marketing and communication tools and processes of Czech branch of Philip Morris company and to possible advices. Thesis is divided into three parts. The first part is a theoretical one, dedicated to general marketing definitions. The second one deals with the specific of tobacco market and with extend and impacts of existing regulation. The last one describe the company this thesis is dedicated to, its tools and processes and also include the evaluation and some advices to improvement.